Ch.79Chapter 79. Warp Gate (4)

Chapter 79. Warp Gate (4)

[Old wizard. May I see your memories?]

Beatrice, unable to hide her bewilderment, asked Harry.

I’d probably react the same way if someone suddenly told me Earth was destroyed.

“That’s fine.”

Harry nodded, and the hologram of the Grand Magician reached out her hand toward him.

An intangible energy enveloped Harry’s body.

[Dimensional gate… demons… this…!]

Beatrice’s expression turned grave.

[An apocalypse I never imagined. To think the Empire would fall so absurdly… that Empire…]

They were people with the technology to build giant robots in the medieval era.

If only the capital hadn’t been captured from the beginning, the situation might have been better than it is now.

“Where is this place? I’d like to know how far we’ve come.”

Harry asked. He seemed unable to contain his curiosity, befitting a wizard.

[Medica. Halfway up Mount Chenggo, to be precise.]

Medica… that’s the region located at the northern end of the map.

It’s very far from Symphonia, which is located at the southern end.

“Is there a reason you installed a warp gate in Symphonia?”

[Symphonia is my hometown. I was simply doing a favor for a wizard from my hometown who discovered the warp gate.]

So there wasn’t any grand reason behind it.

[It’s sad that the Empire has fallen and the world is in a precarious situation, but there’s nothing I can do. I’m merely a spirit bound to this secret warehouse, a trace of Beatrice.]

Beatrice slowly shook her head.

What do you mean nothing you can do? You should give us the best of what you have.

The god Loa who can end this apocalypse is right here.

I was just about to step forward myself.

[Come to think of it, what a strange gathering.]

Beatrice examined our party one by one.

[A barbarian and a paladin, what a rare combination. And what is that enormous monster bird?]

Kweek-!

You only just noticed Tuntuni?

This Grand Magician has a surprisingly narrow field of vision. Is it because she’s just residual consciousness?

“It’s not a monster bird, it’s a spirit. Its name is Tuntuni.”

Paya, slightly offended, answered.

[Spirit? Were spirits ever that big? I don’t think so…]

“It is a spirit.”

How resolute. She’s practically Tuntuni’s mother.

[Hmm…]

Beatrice stared intently at Tuntuni.

[Is this spirit the only one of its kind currently in existence?]

“Yes.”

Even according to civilized people’s records, only one or two spirit users have been discovered in the past 100 years.

Paya must be this world’s only spirit user, and Tuntuni the only spirit.

[…I see. So the fundamental power that forms spirits has concentrated in a single entity. That’s why it’s so large.]

Oh. The moment Tuntuni’s secret is revealed.

That makes sense.

If all normal spirits were as strong as this monster pigeon, barbarians would have flourished as much as the civilized people.

“If the number of spirits increases, could Tuntuni become weaker?”

Luna, who had been quietly observing until now, spoke up.

Only Noah and Lakye remain silent.

I suppose it’s natural since Noah doesn’t know enough to speak up, and Lakye isn’t interested in these things.

[Not weakening, but returning to normal. It would have only the power it’s meant to have.]

After finishing her answer, Beatrice examined our party again.

Perhaps she wanted to memorize the appearance of the people who had come to find her from a destroyed world.

[Oh.]

Beatrice’s gaze stopped on Lakye.

The hologram girl’s eyes spun around and around.

Just like when Harry wore those spinning glasses to check my identity.

I remember those glasses were called Scout Glasses.

Perhaps it’s that kind of magic that confirms someone’s identity.

[What an unusual being. Half god, half human. A fitting existence for the end times.]

That’s quite offensive. What does she mean by “fitting for the end times”?

Lakye isn’t some end-of-century monster.

“How impudent for a mere ghost.”

Lakye frowned, apparently displeased as well.

Beatrice ignored this and turned her gaze elsewhere.

At least she’s better than Harry who immediately cowered.

Her gaze, after passing over Luna, turned toward Totem #3.

[Y-You are…!]

Look at those dilated pupils. She seems more surprised than when she heard about the Empire’s fall.

Well, I no longer need to prove myself.

[A god descending to the mortal realm…! May I know your name?]

Look at her immediately switching to honorifics.

So she can casually dismiss a half-god-half-human, but a real god is different, huh?

– I am Loa Malak. I have descended to end this apocalypse.

[The Storm God Malak!]

Beatrice smiled brightly.

[So there is salvation! This world will not perish in vain!]

She’s extremely pleased.

By the way, she knows the true Malak’s title.

Even among barbarians, few knew that I was called the Storm God in ancient times.

– You know me?

[How could I not? The Goddess Church was so wary of you. You’d be surprised how often your name appears in their important documents.]

That makes sense.

From memories I saw in dreams, the “true” Malak once destroyed a cathedral.

I must have been considered a god of highest risk level.

[Then is that woman a hybrid of you and a civilized person?]

Beatrice’s gaze turned back to Lakye.

I didn’t even need to answer.

“I am Malak-nim’s guardian, not his daughter.”

Lakye showing her displeasure again.

The key point is that she doesn’t mention that her father is Lakan.

– Hand over the most valuable things you possess to contribute to ending this apocalypse.

I added that I would save all of humanity, both barbarians and civilized people alike, so she could rest assured.

[Is there anything specific you desire?]

“We need a great many magic stones.”

This time Harry stepped forward.

[I have many magic stones hidden in secret. I’ll mark the locations for you.]

Now it seems we’ll be collecting magic stones from various regions.

The magic stone treasure hunt begins.

[There are quite a few good treasures too. This is…]

A wooden miniature golem stood before us carrying several boxes.

Harry gathered what seemed necessary while listening to Beatrice’s explanations.

We couldn’t take everything due to the warp gate’s mass limit.

[Ah, I also have one of the Storm God’s totems. Shall I bring it?]

– Please do.

The more totems, the better.

Since Totem #4 (temporary) broke while killing the tunnel demon, it’s time to bring in a new #4.

I examined the totem the wooden golem brought. It was a small, plain wooden statue.

The decorative part was slightly damaged, probably due to age.

[I obtained it from a priestess of the Golden Sun tribe. Her name was Lulu, an old friend of mine.]

I was worried she might have killed someone to get it, but that’s a relief.

A woman of Grand Magician status probably wouldn’t lie.

“The magical power is minimal due to the damage. It might break after Malak-nim possesses it a few times.”

Paya, who was examining Totem #4 (candidate) with me, said.

That’s a bit disappointing. Then I’ll have to use it temporarily like the previous #4.

It will be helpful someday.

I took the second Totem #4. It was about the size of Paya’s hand and light enough to carry without burden.

[This is a magic book I wrote myself. It deals with the essence of seven types of magic.

I’m confident it will be of great help to the magicians of this era.]

Beatrice made eye contact with Luna.

Well, we should take this too. Strengthening allies is always right.

Warp gate. Not bad.

There were no weapons that could kill shadow demons, but instead, there were plenty of items that would help in various ways.

We were in the middle of farming diligently.

Boom!

With the sound of something colliding, the wall shook.

It was the sound of heavy equipment hitting a building.

[What’s happening…? Trbo, show us the outside situation.]

The wooden golem called Trbo shot a beam of light from its chest.

The wall touched by the light showed the outside situation. A fantasy beam projector, I see.

[Demons…]

Cultists and demons were hitting what appeared to be the main entrance of this secret warehouse with all their might.

These weren’t just any cultists and demons. They were zombies with red glowing eyes.

I feared this might happen.

Medica is at the northern end of the map.

…Volbano and Dubenheim are also at the northern end.

Even if they’re close, how could that corpse-maker come here at this timing?

This is too unfair. In common terms, it’s a “setup.”

[They must have detected the secret warehouse’s reactivation.]

Beatrice, who had been watching, said.

When we came through the warp gate, the secret warehouse reactivated, and it seems they detected that.

This can’t be helped.

As I was watching the cultists and demon zombies filling the screen, a massive being that looked like a cross between an airplane and a stingray revealed itself in the air.

I couldn’t help but recall that phrase.

[Condition: Defeat three high-ranking demons]

Ah, so it was this one.

This bastard was the one who killed one of the high-ranking demons.

As the stingray demon slowly descended to the ground, a figure riding it stood up.

It was a paladin wearing a helmet with goat horns and armed with various tools.

Behind him, ominous forms I had never seen before writhed.

Ha, the great demon lord has arrived.

He looks very different from when we saw him in Dubenheim. Did he collect the hidden pieces Rinojohnnson knew about?

He dismounted from the stingray demon.

The Necrolord, Charon.